VA : Last Sacrifice  Flesh and Blood
by justarookiewriter
Summary: I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his lips. He replaced his lips with his forehead once again. It lay flat against my mine with the tips of our noses touching. He started to nudge my face up with his nose guiding it so that our lips were oh so ...
1. Chapter 1 : A New Found Hope

**Vampire Academy Book 6: Last Sacrifice**

**FAN FICTION**

**Author: justarookiewriter**

**Disclaimer: **Vampire Academy was written by Richelle Mead. This is myversion of what will happen in the next book.

**Request: **Please leave feedback on my writing. I will read all criticism and will take it seriously in order to improve my writing.

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**Chapter 1:**

I hardly ever cry, but at the moment I could not stop the tears from spilling over. I had to get it together. "I am a badass; I have taken on numerous Strigoi. I am volatile and unpredictable, I am not a damsel in distress that needs saving." I said this out loud to myself. But I could not shake the sorrow and helplessness that overtook me.

"Ahem." I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.

"Daddy is that…" I swallowed my words as I turned around and saw Dimitri. I didn't know what caught me by surprise the most. The fact that I was calling my estranged father Abe, daddy, or that Dimitri was standing outside the cell I was now being held captive. It was rather unsettling seeing him here. I was not sure what to say, my emotions were all tangled. I felt sad, lonely, angry, but when I looked at him warmth filled me.

"Rose, are you OK?" Instead of answering him I asked the first thing that came to mind.

"What are you doing here? Lissa and Adrian have tried to come see me, but they have not been able to get past the guardians. I am not allowed to have visitors other than my lawyer."

Princess Vasilissa Dragomir was my best friend and the Moroi I was supposed to be guarding. She was a royal and the last in the Dragomir line automatically giving her the princess title. Her entire family had perished in a car accident that was supposed to kill me too. Well, it did kill me, but Lissa brought me back from the dead with the healing power of Spirit. Adrian Ivashkov was another royal Moroi and coincidently another spirit user. Through their common magic element Adrian and Lissa became friends in the quest of mastering the magic powers of spirit. Until recently it was only believed that moroi could specialize in the use of water, fire, air or wind magic. Christian Ozera, Lissa's boyfriend used to feel threatened by Adrian as he and Lissa spent a lot of time together trying to learn each other's powers. Christian is conceited and is full of witty remarks, but is dedicated to Lissa and brings out a side of her that no one else can. He is also a royal moroi like Lissa and Adrian, and although he had been previously shunned by other moroi royals, has gained ground in popularity recently. He may not have been aware of it, but hanging out with Lissa has given him an extra polish and confidence. I guess the fear that he was going to go Strigoi was not as powerful as it had once been in the moroi community.

Strigoi are what we call "evil vampires". They will do anything in order to feed including killing their victims. They feed on human blood, but prefer the Moroi and Dhampir blood as it makes them stronger. Moroi are also vampires but they don't kill when they feed. They tend to use human feeders who willingly give themselves to get their necessary blood supply, but they don't solely live on human blood as they eat and drink everyday food. Moroi can turn into Strigoi by killing a human, dhampir or moroi when they feed. Strigoi can also "awaken" other strigoi by drinking their victim's blood and forcing them to drink their strigoi blood. This is what had happened to Dimitri. He had been turned Strigoi a little over 4 months ago and Lissa with the help of Christian and his aunt Tasha had healed him back into a dhampir. A dhampir is a half dhampir half moroi, at least now they are. Dhampirs originated from moroi and humans mating. Dhampirs are have half human and half moroi traits which make us fast and durable. That's what Dimitri and I are.

I looked at Dimitri trying to keep my emotions in check while I waited for him to answer. "I may not be a powerful royal moroi, but you forget that once I was a well respected and regarded guardian. I can still call on my old colleagues for favors." He answered dryly.

"What do you want Dimitri, you have made it clear that…" I faltered a little before I could finish my sentence "love fades." He did not look away his face did not betray whatever he felt inside. He remained stoic further driving the point that in deed his love had faded.

"Rose, I did not come here to argue, I came to see how you were doing and if I can do anything for you." He spoke in a soft tone, the kind you use to pacify a child. His face looked concerned for a second reminding me of the Dimitri I knew and fell in love with, but he shook that off and put on his mentor face.

"I'm …" I was going to say OK, my standard answer whenever someone was concerned about me. This is how it had always been. I never wanted to draw that kind of attention, the kind that made others worry. However, I knew that Dimitri would never buy that. He knew me too well. Instead I replied "I'm coping." He looked at me arching one eyebrow. God I still loved how he did that.

"OK, coping may not be really the right word, but what else can I say. Queen Tatiana is dead, and obviously I have been framed for her murder. I don't know how I am going to prove my innocence given the evidence against me and while I'm locked up in here there is nothing I can physically do…"

"Rose, I am going to help you". Dimitri started, but in my haste and what seemed to be a serious case of verbal diarrhea, I kept talking. "They are going to find me guilty at the full fledge trial and they are going to execute me."

"I will never allow that to happen." Dimitri shouted. His expression showed little doubt and he had a glint in his eyes. Almost like the thought of my death caused him pain.

At that point guardian Mikkael Tanner was running down the hall in our direction and asked, "Is everything OK? I heard shouting." Dimitri gave him a look that conveyed enough. Mikkael quickly followed with a nod and walked back to his post.

Dimitri looked at me with those brown eyes and with a serious look continued in a lower voice "Rosa…" He had called me Rosa, something he did when he felt particularly affectionate towards me and it made my heart a little lighter. But again his face gave no signs of such fondness. I felt a knot in my throat and I had to swallow several times in order to make it go away. I put my hands on the bars of my jail cell and my face was a few inches away from his. I let my gaze fall to the floor I was flooded by overwhelming sadness. Dimitri put a finger under my chin and pulled my face slowly up so that I would meet his gaze. My skin tingled where he touched me.

"I once promised that I would never abandon you, and I will keep my promise." I remember Dimitri telling me this when I was seeing Mason's ghost and then again when I was "catching" Lissa's madness. When I didn't reply he continued.

"Rose, you need to let me help you. We have to figure out a way to prove your innocence. I know you did not kill the queen. It is not in your nature to be so…"

"Stupid" I supplied.

"I was going to say malicious. I know you can be reckless and quick to react, but I know you and I know you want to save everyone even if you don't like them. I am proof of that. You could have killed me when I was a strigoi, but you let me go."

Remembering when I had tried to kill Dimitri on a bridge in Russia sent shivers down my spine and I could not suppress a shudder. It was a knee-jerk reaction from the memories of watching his body falling down to the dark water and the numbness I felt when I thought I had sent him to his final death. I looked up at Dimitri's face and he looked away for a moment as if ashamed. I guessed he must have assumed that my shiver was a sign of disgust for what he had done to me and others while he was a strigoi. I was not going to correct him He had already turned me down several times and I was not going to loose what little dignity I had left. "I did try to kill you twice, once in Russia and then later in Las Vegas." I was not going to let him know that I had sabotaged Eddie in Vegas in order to give Dimitri a way of escape.

He composed himself and continued "We are going to prove that you are not associated with the queen's murder."

"Why should I let you help me when you would not see me after Lissa had turned you back into a dhampir?" Again, my words seemed to hit a sore spot because Dimitri closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Rose, I won't let you do this on your own, I am going to prove you did not kill the queen. Help me help you."

I stepped away from the bars, dug my hands in my pockets and lowered my head as a way of protest. In my pocket I felt the folded up letter from the queen that Ambrose had given me. The queen knew that something was coming and had written to inform me that Lissa had a sibling due to her fathers' wondering eye.

I might not be able to prove my innocence, but I knew I could do something to help my situation. Now that there was no queen I was certain that the court would give my judgment via vote of the 12 royal families. The only trouble was that currently there were only 11 members in the Royal Council. None of these 11 would come to my rescue. I needed Lissa to be part of the council. Lissa was the last Dragomir therefore she had no one to appoint her to council, but if I could find Lissa's sibling, she could take her righteous place among the family leaders.

My head was quickly concocting a plan on how I was going to bust out of prison. I had liberated Victor Dashkov from Tarasov, a high security prison in Alaska. Breaking out from here would prove to be just a difficult, but with my friends help maybe I could do it. Eddie Castile, another dhampir like me, had helped with Victor's jailbreak and I was going to need his help again. I just hoped he would still consider helping me. He was pretty upset with me. You would think it was because we liberated Victor Dashkov who was in prison for kidnapping and torturing Lissa. Instead the reason he was so angry with me was because we had let a strigoi go when he could have killed him. That strigoi had been Dimitri.

With my mind made up I asked Dimitri "Can I trust you and will you help me no questions asked." I asked with a wild grin on my face.

"Rose, what are you going to do?" He asked wearily.

"You are asking questions, Can I trust you? Will you help me?"

"You know you can trust me and yes, I will help you. I will follow you anywhere and protect you no matter how outlandish your plan." Dimitri answered. I remembered how earlier today he had fought a small army of the queen's royal guardians on his own in order to keep them from taking me. It was incredible how God like he could be and I had no doubt he meant what he said.

"I need you to be here with Adrian and Eddie tomorrow before sunrise." Although it would be light out, it would be nighttime for the vampire world. There would be less witnesses and it would make it easier for us to maneuver in the human world.

"OK, I will do that." He did not ask how and he did not point out the obvious dilemma. They were not allowing me any visitors. Instead he continued "What will we do once I bring them to you?"

Just then I heard guardian Tanner talking to someone and I could differentiate two sets of footsteps coming in our direction. Abrahim Mazur was being escorted by guardian Tanner. His expression was grim.

"Abe, what have you found out?" Dimitri looked confused and I could not tell why.

Abe looked at me and said "Rose, I think we should talk in private."

I turned to Dimitri "Remember what I said, Adrian will know the rest." At least I hoped he would know the rest. I had not yet gone to sleep and I was hoping Adrian would visit my dreams tonight.

He nodded to my father and said "Mr. Mazur, are you Roses' lawyer?

"Yes." He replied. "Your family must be delighted that you are back to your former dhampir self." I wondered how well my father knew Dimitris' family. My father knew several people in Russia, I was certain he knew several women in the dhampir commune where Dimitri once lived, but I did not know what his level of acquaintance was with his family.

"I have not spoken to them yet, I am not sure what they will say." I was surprised by this, but I wanted to get on to talking with my father.

"Dimitri, contact them. Look, I don't want to be rude, but I need to speak with my dad." There it was again, that look of surprise. And this time Abe's accompanied it.

"Zmey is your father?" He said with shock. "Well, that explains a lot about your personality." With that he turned around and said that he would see me tomorrow.

I turned to face my father and he still had a look of shock himself. "You called me dad." Abe said with a small smile. "I am glad. It is much more becoming than old man." His face quickly changed and showed the severity of the situation. "The mess you are in is quite deep. I had a briefing with the opposing council and the amount of evidence they have pointing towards you is great. I have not figured out what to do yet, but I will guarantee you that no one will touch you. I will make sure of that."

"Rose, I need you to tell me whatever else you can about where you were yesterday."

"I was around court in the afternoon. I walked in the parks, admiring the gardens and statues." I was not going to tell him that I was mulling over what Dimitri had told me… _I have given up on you. Love fades. Mine has._

"Was anyone else with you? Did anyone else at all see you walking? We need an alibi." He countered

"No, I wanted to be alone and I avoided all contact."

"This is less than ideal… We already know we can't use Adrian as an alibi as the murder happened before he …" I think he was going to say spent the night, but he stopped his words mid-sentence. I was glad. I did not want to talk to my father about boys spending the night or my sex life in general.

"What can I do dad, until you figure out what to do?"

"Short of making you disappear, until we can prove your innocence I am not sure what else we can do." Well, at least I was in the right track. Disappearing was most definitely in my plans.

We spoke a little bit more about his defense strategy and informed me that they would more likely than not keep me in the court's jail until my trial date was set just like they did with Victor Dashkov. We said our goodbyes and to my surprise he gave me a light kiss on the forehead much like a caring father would give his daughter. He then turned around and walked away.

I thought that in all my despair I would be unable to fall asleep, but I was surprised that I was taken over by the bliss of sleep. A few seconds later I saw myself out in one of the court gardens that I had visited the previous days and was mesmerized by its beauty. The sky was free from clouds and the wonderfully sunny rays felt heavenly on my skin. I soon felt the tug of one of Adrian's dreams coming on. He looked a little tired, a little weary but just as handsome as I had ever seen him. He was wearing checkered blue shorts and a nice white polo shirt. I could see they were brand name and it looked as if he was on a golf outing. Well, except for his bare feet which he sometimes sported in these dreams. I had never been so happy to see him.

"Adrian, I am so glad you came, I really have been looking forward to this moment."

"Rose, how are you I have been so worried about you? Lissa and I tried to see you but the guardians would not let us in." He said all this in a rushed stream.

"Wow, this is the first time you have called me Rose inside these dreams. Whatever happened to you calling me your little dhampir?" I asked.

"Well, this is the first time you said to me you were glad to see me in one of these dreams." He said with a small smile.

"Why did you bring me to this garden? Did you see me visiting it yesterday?"

"No, but yesterday was not the first time you have visited this garden." Damn it! I thought maybe he would have seen me and that he could have been my alibi after all. I quickly remembered that earlier that day we had an argument because I had not attended the get together at his house after I had told his mother I would go. He had told me he was going to go to sleep.

"I brought you here once before when I was telling you about my family tree."

"I remember, this was your grandmothers' garden." I said as I looked around and took in how beautiful and big it was.

"Adrian, I miss you already and I am happy that things progressed with us as far as they did." I thought to myself again how love really did grow.

"Me too my little dhampir, but I think we should talk about what we can do to remedy your situation. If you mention last night again I can't be responsible for my actions."

You could always count on Adrian to be a flirt and live in the moment. I could not escape what was going on in the real world or the fact that I was still in jail, but I could enjoy myself a little bit in our dream world. So I walked over to Adrian, draped my arms around his neck and whispered in his ear. "I do really appreciate you coming to see me tonight. Now, just give me one big kiss."

Adrian hesitantly and ever so gently put his lips on mine. We savored the moment as if were our first kiss. His passion grew and I could feel his kiss deepen and become more urgent. I could feel a hunger growing inside me and kissing him was the only thing that sated it. Too soon however, Adrian pulled away and smiled down at me. He kissed me lightly on the nose and gave me an expecting look.

"What?" I asked him, "Did you not like the kiss?"

"I loved the kiss but…" his face grew serious. "We need to address the issue. You are in jail and we need to prove your innocence." With that, I started to let him know what he was to do tomorrow morning.

After a good hour of plotting Adrian looked me deep in the eyes. "Good night Rose, get whatever rest you can tomorrow proves to be an exciting day. I will see you tomorrow."

Adrian left me with a new found hope and a few seconds after he stepped out of my dreams I fell into a deep sleep.

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**I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. Look for Chapter 2 by August 9****th****.**

**Be my critic. Let me know what you think!**

7


	2. Chapter 2 : Condolances

**Vampire Academy Book 6: Last Sacrifice**

**FAN FICTION**

**Author: justarookiewriter**

**Disclaimer:** Vampire Academy was written by Richelle Mead. This is my version of the next book.

**Request:** Please leave feedback on my writing. I will read all criticism and will take it seriously in order to improve my writing.

**One Last Thing:** I just created a cover for this story. If you want to see it, go to my profile and click on the link.

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**Chapter 2:**

I woke up early the next day. It was still light out and I was certain that Adrian was still asleep. I had asked him to get as much rest as he could today. In about 18 hours, while the vampire world laid their heads down to sleep and the human world started to rise we were going to try our luck at the impossible. I looked through the bar cells across the hall at a small window. My only glimpse to the outside world displayed like a painting; a beautiful sunny day where the sun was nowhere near setting and there were no clouds in the sky.

I got off the bed, sat on the cold ground and felt the chill rise up my body. I was alone as the seven other cells in the hallway were empty. An overwhelming despair was threatening to overtake me again and I tried to focus on the calming influence that Adrian's dream walk had invoked last night. I took a deep breath, and although I thought it was a long shot that Lissa would be awake, I cleared my mind and concentrated so that I could enter her mind. She was in her bedroom; Christian lay clothed next to her on the bed. His arm draped over her hip protecting her even as she slept. I was glad that he could be with her. I knew she was probably anguished. Both of them lay quietly but neither was sleeping and they both tossed. Lissa kept mulling over what she could possibly do for me and kept coming up empty.

At last she looked up at Christian. His eyes were closed and she whispered: "Christian, are you sleeping?" He kept his eyes closed and answered "Yes." Lissa ignored his answer and kept talking in a louder tone. "I can't believe the guardians won't let us see her. Adrian was going mad and even shouted obscenities at them. He tried getting himself thrown in jail just so he could see her. I feel worse for him and I do for me." Christian's only answer was "Hmmm…" With that Lissa shot up to a sitting position on the bed.

She was about to yell at Christian. She didn't understand how he could sleep at a time like this, except that Christian's response startled her. He sprung from the bed in a crouching position ready to attack. His hands were glowing; he was ready to torch an intruder with fire. His stare was fixed at the door and then he turned and faced the window. Lissa clutched the sheets up to her chest and actually giggled a little. She looked at Christian with loving eyes and found it very sexy that he was ready to annihilate any threat. I must admit I didn't see it. His hair was so messy and his eyes were bloodshot. But in her mind she saw his blue eyes and in them the desire to defend her. Immediately she stopped her tangent thoughts as my situation flashed through her mind once more.

"What's wrong?" asked Christian in a worried voice. "Is everything…" Lissa interrupted him. "Everything is not OK, but you can put the weapons down." Christian looked at his fiery hands and lowered them slowly. He walked over to Lissa and intertwined his fingers through hers. "I know you are upset over Rose, and so am I. You have to know that to me she is family. I know what I am about to say will sound crazy but we should probably try to get some rest. We have not slept more than an hour, and I don't know about you, but I won't be much help to Rose if I am not running at full throttle." He walked over to her and ever so tenderly traced the outline of her face with the back of his fingers. He looked deep into her eyes, and I could see the look of concern he wore for her and oddly enough for me too. He brushed his lips lightly on her forehead and pulled back with visible effort.

"Argh! Who am I kidding? I know you won't sleep." He said. "Let's just get ready for the day. I'm gonna need a shower so I can be more alert." Lissa smiled at him obviously pleased. Christian was making a great effort by starting the day so painfully early. Lissa turned around headed towards the bathroom, Christian following at her heals. "Oh!" She said, turning around to face him again "Do you want to use the shower first, or should I?" His face betrayed him. He was obviously disappointed and I could not figure out why. Lissa caught this too and I could sense she was equally puzzled. "I thought you could savor a few extra minutes in bed while I got ready." Lissa said. Christian instantly put a sly smile on his face and I knew then where this was headed. "Are you kidding me?" He answered. "I would probably fall asleep only to have you yell at me when I can't wake up. Why don't we save time and the environment? Let's take one together!" That was my queue. I didn't know if Christian meant this, and I didn't know if Lissa would acquiesce or punch him in the face like I would have, but I did \n't care. I was out of Lissa's head quicker than a dropped towel could hit the floor.

I blinked a couple of times and found myself staring at the prison floor. I had not been bothered during the night and although I was certain that there was vigilance of the highest level, I had yet to encounter anyone. I was starting to wonder if they were going to feed me or if I was going to go hungry, but at the moment I didn't care. At this point I was certain I couldn't stomach anything.

It was then that I heard three sets of footsteps coming down the hall. They finally stopped in front of my holding cell. I was facing the empty wall. Not the bars, not wall with the bed and definitely not the wall that held the toilet and the sink. I looked up at the three men standing outside my prison cell. I didn't recognize two of them, but I knew the one standing to the left, Dimitri.

The guardian in the middle stepped forward and addressed me. "Rosemarie Hathaway, I am Guardian Evgeny Stoyanov. I want to communicate the procedures of the Court's prison. As you probably already know, the Court is in a bit of squabble. There are predetermined measures that have been established for circumstances similar to the one we are in. However, there is a lot of chaos that first needs to be controlled. There is no way to know when the official trial will take place and therefore no way to know how long you will be housed here until your execution."

I looked over to Dimitri and I saw his hand tense. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His breath sounded haggard I could only assume this was a reaction to the thought of my execution. I could not believe the audacity with which this guardian spoke of what seemed like my impending death. How could he determine I was guilty by just looking at me? Why did he assume that I had murdered the queen? My eyes started to water. I tried not to blink in order to keep the tears from spilling onto my face but my eyes were brimming and consequently several tears trickled onto my cheeks despite the fact that I had not bat an eyelash. I quickly wiped them off my face and I saw the guardians look away. I guess they were as uncomfortable with the show of emotion as I was. Dimitri however, didn't look away. I sensed that he wanted to reach out and comfort me, but that could have been just some of the feelings I still harbored for Dimitri messing with my head.

Guardian Stoyanov cleared his throat and continued. "While you are under our custody, you will receive two cold meals and one hot meal. You will be allotted 1 hour of exercise daily which will take place in this very building in the guardian's quarters. Your old mentor guardian Belikov will serve as your training partner as well as a correction officer so to speak. You will be heavily guarded during these exercise sessions, and to make it overtly clear that any attempt at escape will be futile; four other guardians will be posted inside the training facility and two outside the gym door. You will be allowed to use the shower facilities every day after your workout and you will be escorted by a female guardian. During waking hours you will have a guard posted outside of your cell. During the vampiric night there will be guards at the end of the hall on the other side of the metal door. Shall an emergency arise they will be your only method of communication. Since we have already confiscated your personal items there is no concern of your unauthorized use of a cell phone or any other electronic device. Your only means of entertainment will be via books or newspaper. Miss Hathaway, do you understand all the procedures and are they clear?"

I swallowed the lump that sat heavily in my throat and answered, "Unmistakably." When I spoke my voice sounded raw and weak, and I only hoped that he had heard me so that I would not have to speak again. Guardian Stoyanov nodded and continued, "Guardian Belikov has been reinstated to duty and his first assignment is here in the prison. He will be taking today's first shift guarding your jail cell." With that he turned around and walked down the hallway. The other guardian followed closely behind and soon I heard the heavy metal door at the end of the hall shut with a loud crash. I also heard a lock clank as it was put into place. I stammered several sighs and crumbled to the floor.

I sat in silence for what seemed like a century. Just when I thought I was going to go insane in the deafening silence Dimitri's voice broke it. "Rose". I looked up at him. He seemed at a loss for words, and he stood quiet for many more seconds as if searching for the right thing to say. "Breakfast will be served an hour before sunset," was all he managed to say. With that I resumed staring at the wall in the same heap of flesh that had crumbled to the ground several minutes earlier.

Dimitri continued to stand facing me with his legs shoulder length apart. There was a chair outside my cell facing me out of my arm length's reach. I assumed the posted guardian could have sat there, but Dimitri chose to stand. I could not muster the strength to look up at him so I had no idea where he was looking. I was too afraid to look at him for fear that I would fall to pieces once I saw his face. This time there was no one to put me back together and I knew I was not that strong to do it myself.

Breakfast finally came at around 7:00 AM, and a warden accompanied a short, for moroi standards, old lady who held a tray of food. The warden opened the cell door so that the food could be delivered. The serving moroi quickly set the tray onto a small table next to the cot and quickly exited my cell as if by frightened by my presence. I heard them leaving and once again all that could be heard was the frightening silence. I continued to sit on the ground without moving.

"I can't take it anymore!" Dimitri finally said. Startled by his rare loss of control I stared at him. "Rose, I can't stand to see you like this; talk to me. Tell me what to do!" I pulled my eyebrows together and I whispered. "I already told you what to do; I need you to sneak Eddie and Adrian to the prison's entrance." He looked at me totally confused. "What's the plan, what are you going to do? Why won't you let me help?" I thought about this a little. "You want to help me, why don't you answer some of my question." He nooded and I took this as a signal and I hoped he was prepared for a bombarding of questions.

"First, what are you doing working at the prison?"

"I thought it would be obvious. There is a shortage of guardians. The royals are now upset because not only can strigoi kill them they are also afraid of well..." I knew what he was getting at. They were afraid of me. "I asked to be assigned to guard Lissa or Adrian but I was told to come here. I suspect this is to serve two purposes. Some moroi are still scared that I may go -as you say- strigoi on them so they wanted me where I would interact with the least number of royal morois. The guardians seem to have accepted me back, but I suspect the reason guardian Stoyanov stationed me here is as a result of our past relationship." This was the longest Dimitri had spoken without my interrupting, and by the look on his face he seemed have noticed this also.

"People know about us? Is it public knowledge?" I asked in a low tone and I felt knot in the pit of my stomach. Did they want to torture me? All I wanted to do was move on from Dimitri and move forward with Adrian. I know that part of me will always love Dimitri, but he had made it clear there was no future for us and I wanted to be done dwelling on the past. He smiled at my question and answered quietly. "Yes, people know that I was your mentor and that you were involved in the efforts to turn me back into a dhampir, but that's about it."

I pondered this and failed to see why they were using our mentor relationship as a benefit to the guards. If anything, I would have thought it was a benefit for me. He would more likely than not be lenient towards me. "I don't understand," was all I was able to say.

"I taught you most of what you know and we tend to be perfectly matched in a fight. We can foresee each other's moves and are likely to end in a stalemate. At least that is what they think. I however, know that you are now a better guardian than I. You were able to defeat me during the field experience when you were at St. Vladimier's Academy and you were able to overtake me as a strigoi."

I took this as a great compliment, but in the back of my mind I knew better. I was certain that the only reason I was able to overtake him when he was a strigoi was a result of his desire to turn me and not for lack of talent on his part. "Also," he continued. "Did you notice how a warden followed the moroi woman who delivered your food? Do you know why that was necessary?" He asked. "Ofcourse, he was there for extra protection to make sure I would not hurt her." I answered quickly. "Rose, the warden was here to open the door. They trust that you would not pose a troublesome threat to me. They are however testing our mentoring relationship. You can appreciate how there is a conflict of interest in my position. In the one hand I want to help you, on the other hand I want to re-enter the guardian world once more." I understood completely.

There was just one more thing I wanted to ask. "Why did you want to guard Lissa or Adrian?" "Oh Rose," replied Dimitri, "I was certain that would be crystal clear to you. Lissa and Adrian are excellent Spirit users and I was going to rely on their compulsion to get you out of here. However, I think this will work better to our benefit."

"What do you mean?" I thought using Adrian or Lissa was the perfect plan. In fact, that is what I was banking on myself.

"Well, I am learning the layout of the prison and where the weaknesses in the system are. Plus, you do remember how I told you that I have friends in the guardian world. I was not lying to you and I plan to use my connections to the fullest. We will get you out of here and we are going to find out who killed the queen."

My heart swelled in my chest and when I looked up at Dimitri I saw a fire in his eyes. The fire that showed passion and desire, a fire that was there when he fought, and when his animal instincts consumed him putting him on the brink of loosening the almost perfect grip on his self control.

I looked up at Dimitri's eyes and walked over to the cell bars. I wrapped my hands around two of the rods and Dimitri instinctively enfolded his hands around mine. They were warm and calloused but at the same time gentle. I put my forehead against the bars and I felt his forehead against mine. The butterflies I felt it my stomach rivaled the kind you get in a rollercoaster that's plummeting the steepest drop.

I lifted my gaze so that I could look in his eyes. "You know what this reminds me of?" I asked him. "No, tell me." He answered. "Being held captive, having food brought over to me, my trying to escape and you being my jailer." He turned his head to look away but the grip on my hands tightened.

"You have to know that I was not myself when I was Strigoi, but I can see the similarities" he grimaced a little.

"I know that you couldn't help it. The fact that you did not kill me right away and that you wanted to keep me showed me that there was some part of your former self left in you. It was especially obvious when you held the ring that Okzana had made and that Mark gave to me."

He looked at me with some form of admiration. "Lissa told me that it was you that found out about spirit users 'healing' Strigoi." "That's right, but it was really pure luck. Almost as if this was meant to be-" knowing that he might infer that I meant that we were meant to be, I quickly continued. "I guess you have a lot of good left to do maybe some day you could be part of a Strigoi rescue army, who knows."

"Thank you" He said "Oh, you are welcome. Since when do you need accolades from others? You know how good a fighter you are." He looked at me with such intensity I almost looked behind me. It was as if he was looking in me rather than at me. But very quickly he continued. "No Rosa, you don't understand. Really, thank you. You have given me a chance at what I value most."

For a moment time stood still. This meant more than him saying I love you; because those words would have made me happy. Having him thank me for giving him back what he valued most, his soul, made me feel that he was really happy and HIS happiness was the best gift I could receive.

I smiled up at him and he kissed me lightly on the forehead. I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his lips. He replaced his lips with his forehead once again. It lay flat against my mine with the tips of our noses touching. He started to nudge my face up with his nose guiding it so that our lips were oh so close! I could feel his warm breath on my face. His hands moved to my wrist and they were welcomed shackles. I was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. I did not want this moment to go away. I wanted to stay in this very instant forever. We were in the brink of something between the old and the new. I was intoxicated by the possibility and excitement of a future; something almost tangible.

A thought of Adrian flashed through my mind and as Dimitri's lips started to move towards mine I pulled away. I was not going to do this again. I could not hurt Adrian anymore and I could not let Dimitri continue to string me along and continue to emotionally drain me. He had made his choice and I had made mine. Adrian was my future now and Dimitri was my past.

I released the cell bars and Dimitri's instantly liberated by wrist. I listened to the small part of me that said this was wrong. "I - We can't" I managed to stammer out. But the bigger part of me said to shut it, that this was oh so right.

Dimitri nodded and put his let's get back to business face on. "You should eat something. You are going to need your strength later." He managed to say in a serious tone.

I picked up the cup of coffee and brought it to my lips. It was cold and it tasted like tar. But I swallowed and kept forcing food into my stomach. I had no idea what I was eating, it all tasted like cardboard, but Dimitri was right. I may not have an appetite but I needed the sustenance and I my strength so that I could break free from this living nightmare.

I wondered if it would be safe to visit Lissa again. But I figured that she would probably still be at breakfast if not still in the shower. There would not be much progress in her status, so I stayed here with Dimitri and put my game face on as well.

"Alright," I said to him. "It is time to dish out details on the layout of this place. Tell me all I need to know from where the cameras are to where the guards are stationed."

After Dimitri shared intelligence strategy with me, I figured it was time to ask him for help. I hated being helpless and a total girl. But it had to be done. "What can we do so that there is the least amount of impact on Adrian and Eddie? I don't want them to be linked to my escape. I don't want anyone linked to my jail break."

Dimitri looked thoughtful and finally said "The best way is if you hurt us so that we pass for incapacitated. And you will probably have to leave alone or with someone whom they would think you are taking as leverage." "I see, kind of like a hostage." I added quickly. "Right he said. It would more likely have to be a moroi, but you can see the drawback in taking one." I thought about this a bit. He was right. "A moroi would not do well in the sunlight and they could get hurt." "But you need to look at the most problematic thing. A moroi will slow you down. If you are going to take a companion, it should be someone who will be able to make you faster and will be able to push you and help you hide. Someone who can be out there with you in the day hours someone like…" "Eddie" I supplemented quickly. "Yeah, I can see the benefit in that." Dimitri's face reflected feeling dejected but all of a sudden put a stern face on and remained quiet.

Almost immediately, the door at the end of the hallway unlocked and slid open. Dimitri righted himself and stood up. He had been sitting in the chair facing me so that we could talk easily but it was not too close to the cell bars. He must have sensed that this was coming, and explained the mean face he had put on. Guardian Stoyanov seemed to approve and announced. "It is time for you to train if you choose to do so. You may reject the offer but you will still be allowed the use of the showers and bathrooms."

He paused but I did not want to speak out of turn. Who was this Rose that possessed my body? I could not recognize myself. "So, what will it be?" Asked guardian Stoyanov.

"I would like to train and have use of the facilities." He looked amused but not surprised. "Very well then; Guardian Belikov, are you ready and willing?" Dimitri looked at guardian Stoyanov and replied formally. "Yes, Guardian Stoyanov."

As we walked down the corridor, I made mental notes of all that was around us. There were no cameras in the actual hallway, but there were several at the post on the other side of the door. Some pointed at the wall, while others pointed at the desk. Once we went through the heavy metal door, four more guardians fell on our flanks. Two on each side and then as we were to leave the prison area, two more joined the party. I felt like a queen myself. The only difference being that if a bullet came at us I was certain that they would use me as a shield instead of protecting me like they would have, had I been the queen.

Once inside the workout area two guards stayed outside the door and four entered with us. One of the guardians that entered the training room was a female. Sure enough like guardian Stoyanov had said I would not be allowed an opportunity to cause more havoc. This was the guardian who would follow me into the showers.

Dimitri walked with me to the center of the training room where mats similar to the ones at the Academy lay. "I don't think we should waste time with running or stretching. You know how I feel about those, and although they are very important I feel your time would be best spent sparring against me."

He was not going to get an argument from me. I was more than ready to work out some of my frustration. I took an attacking stance and he did the same. He spared me the rules and I took it to mean that anything goes. We bandaged our hands and when he asked if I was ready a disapproving voice came from someone near the door. "You need to add the sparing gloves. We can't run the risk of having her gouge your eyes and making a run for it, Dimitri." I rolled my eyes and I could have sworn I saw Dimitri do the same, but somehow he always came across as so freaking polite. "Right you are Sasha".

Fighting Dimitri was a great way to release some the tension I felt in addition to keeping myself sharp. He landed several hard blows as did I, and I could swear that some of that extra speed and strength he had gained as a Strigoi was still with him. He kept me working and I felt that I could have done better if I had a stake in my hand. As we stood by the wall drinking water he was rubbing his thigh. "How is it I asked?" He looked down and quickly answered "I'm going to have a bruise, but it is nothing that I can't handle." He was right I was able to land a good round kick that should have incapacitated anyone, but he only staggered out of bounds giving me a point. He was going to have a wicked bruise and I felt kind of bad about that. Dimitri had landed several points and in the end won the sparring match. He did not leave me sore however, and I although I hated to think he might have gone soft of me I appreciated it. I needed to be walking and my body not hating me tonight.

After I showered under the supervision of the female guardian whom Dimitri had called Sasha, I was back in my cell tucked away. Lunch was brought in and again I ate with as much enthusiasm as I had my breakfast. I ate everything, but tasted nothing.

Dimitri was release from his shift for a lunch break and a new guardian took his place. I hoped he would be back later today but I took this chance to do a little mind travel. I faced the empty wall like I had before and cleared my mind. I knew that Dimitri would have known what I was doing, but I was certain that to this guardian it would have appeared a thought I was meditating.

Lissa and Christian were together as expected. What I was not prepared for was to see Adrian in a black tuxedo. He looked really handsome. Actually, he put Brad Pitt to shame. It was only then that I noticed the sea of people dressed in black. The priest at the head of the room was saying some very beautiful words:

"Those that pass on never go away; they walk beside us every day. Their in our thoughts and in our hearts; and thus become a part of who we are. Their presence like the wind can't be seen; but close your eyes and sense where they've been."

Bringing the funeral to an end the priest placed a mound of dirt on the coffin and invited several others to follow.

"The funeral was very modest considering it was the queen's." Christian said to Adrian. "Yeah, but Pricilla said Queen Tatiana wanted it this way. I hate that my Great-aunt is dead, she really was nice to me and she was family after all so I think a bigger funeral would only be fitting. But this is what she wanted."

"Adrian, don't you think that one day turn around is a little fast. Her body was only discovered yesterday." Lissa was the one who pointed this out, and it had me thinking. Surely you would have wanted the proper attendance to the queen's funeral. Diplomats and other high political figures should have been there. Lissa had a point but she dropped it. Across the room Lissa caught sight of Mia and steered the boys over to her.

"Adrian, I am so sorry about your great-aunt. If you need anything, just let me know." Mia seemed sincere and the pain she had felt over her mother's loss from a year ago showed in her face. "I guess if anyone can empathize is you." Adrian said. He put his arm around her shoulder and she seemed dwarfed next to him.

"How is Rose?" She asked to the three but none of them answered. "Wait, do you guys think she did it?" This comment was not received well. "No way, Rose can be unsteady but she is not a murderer." Christian continued, "The trouble is that they won't let any of us see her so we don't know how she is doing." Adrian turned around looking for a waiter serving drinks. He did not want to delve into the subject and considering what I was asking him to do tonight, it was no wonder. But I needed him sober.

A few moments later Daniella Ivashkov, Adrian's mom, walked up to her son and told him that people were going to start lining up to give their condolences and that he should be part of the receiving line as he was Tatiana's kin. With that he handed his drink to Christian and followed his mother.

Christian, Lissa and Mia all lined up with the rest of the mourners. In front of them they met none other than Jesse Zeklos his side kick Ralf Sarcozy. The last time I had seen those two clowns they had been torturing Lissa and I had beat Jesse into a bloody pulp. It was strange that they were here in such short notice but I did not think twice about it. Lissa however seemed to be surprised and made a point to talk to them. "Wow, I thought you guys were half way across the country. How did you get here so fast?" Ralf answered before Jesse could. "We have been here in court for a week now. We came to pick out guardians. Plus, Jesse has a lot of family here and I came to visit my aunt Pricilla." I had always forgotten that Ralf and the queen's advisor were family. I guess because they did not carry the last name it was easy to forget. Jesse however did not seem too happy about talking to these guys or Ralf diarrhea of the mouth, but what could he do.

"Uhhh… So do you guys think that Rose really killed the queen?" Ralf asked in his very typically unintelligent tone.

Jesse did not wait for an answer and plummeted through that one. "Do you remember what she did to me? Rose is crazy and everybody knows it. She definitely did it."

"I think Victor Dashkov did it. I don't know how, but he did it." Christian said. "The timing was just too perfect to be coincidental." He gave Lissa a knowing sidelong glance.

"So how is it going here at court? Have you been able to change any minds in regards to Moroi fighting against the Strigoi?" Jesse asked with a smirk on his face. I would have loved to punch the smirk right out of his face.

"Not yet, but I hope that soon we are going to make a difference," answered Lissa.

"You know, it is not too late to join our Mana. We are really starting to make some large strides." Lissa interrupted Jesse with a face as sweet as a flower. "I think a peaceful method is better than an iron rod. You know what they say about honey and vinager."

"Suit yourself" said Jesse and they turned around as they were coming up to the Ivashkov family and they were ready to give their condolences.

Christian, Mia and Lissa were next in lina and Adrian whispered so quietly that only Lissa could hear. "I need to talk to you after I am done here; I need you alone tonight right before sunrise. We are going to see Rose." She nodded and said nothing else. Although I was happy to see that Lissa would come to my rescue I did not want her involved in this. But I guess it was too late, Adrian had put those pieces in motion.

I left Lissa's mind and looked outside the cell. Sasha no longer sat there, instead Dimitri was back on the chair and he read another of his cheesy Western novels. "Welcome back. Did you get any information that we could use to our advantage?" Dimitri asked looking intrigued.

"I ah… Looks like you are going to be bringing more that just Adrian and Eddie. Looks like Lissa is coming as well."

Dimitri did not show the same worry I did. His smile worried me a little and the words that he whispered threw me for a loop "Excellent! Are you ready?"

Right on queue the door opened and a guardian yelled out to Dimitri. "It's time for lights out! Dimitri get out of there so I can lock the door and set the alarm. Dimitri looked at me one last time and as he walked away he whispered "Be ready".

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I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2. Look for Chapter 3 on August 20th.

**Be my critic. Let me know what you think!**


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